


The Last Hunter

by exclarare



Category: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 20:14:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20441870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exclarare/pseuds/exclarare
Summary: A short prequel concerning Noel's feelings of love and loss as he journeys through the world as the sole remaining human.





	The Last Hunter

**Author's Note:**

> It's worth noting that I have not read the Fragments After story thing that goes more in-depth with Noel's past, though it's on my to-do list, and therefore if you see any small details that don't line up with the book, just ignore them.
> 
> There is also no romantic pairing for this. I wrote this without letting my shipping bias get in the way and stayed as true to the canon as I could, so if you think you see some Noel/Yeul in here, then you probably do. Sorry if it's not your cup of tea, though I personally have nothing against the ship.
> 
> Also I posted this in rtf... so if the formatting is weird I'm tooootally working on that.

To Noel, the difference between surviving and living had been a mere three people: Yeul, Caius, and his grandmother. In that order. Which isn’t to say that he didn’t love his grandma dearly; most of what he knew had been taught to him by her, and there was no one he had been closer to while she was alive. If he closed his eyes and breathed deeply he could still imagine her warmth, her eyes that crinkled at the corners when she smiled, and her worn hands that always worked tirelessly on some project or other.

But the fact remained that she was dead—of the three people listed above, she had been the first to go—and when he opened his eyes, Noel knew that he’d find himself just as cold and lonely as he’d been before he’d closed them.

Caius, too, had brought him joy and taught him much, but Noel’s relationship with him had been quite different. The two hadn’t communicated through words so much as they had through the clashing of each other’s blades and he was more than a little certain that if it hadn’t been for Caius’s instruction when it came to battle, that Noel wouldn’t have survived as long as he had. From his mentor’s point of view, this naturally made sense; no one but the very strongest was worthy of being Yeul’s protector. And while their relationship had not been the same warm, protective bond that he’d shared with his grandmother, Noel had been foolish enough to think of Caius as a sort of family.

The sentiment must not have been shared.

Caius had left, for reasons that Noel still struggled to make sense of, and the young hunter had been forced to bear the burden of Yeul’s death by himself. Yeul, who had brought so much light and laughter into a world that was so dark and forlorn. For Yeul, he had smiled. For Yeul, he had hoped.

He didn’t want to stop hoping. Even now, as he traveled this silent, empty world on legs made of lead, he wanted to keep believing for Yeul’s sake. The problem was that he wasn’t sure what he was believing in anymore.

Now that he was alone, now that everyone else had gone and that Noel walked the earth with nothing but his own dismal thoughts for company, he truly understood just what had made the difference between living and just mindlessly surviving. So he’d resolved to become Etro’s chosen warrior, to become a Guardian like Caius; with the power that came with such a title, surely he could change their fate.

But time and his own doubts and fears continued to whittle away at his determination.

He couldn’t sleep. Even when he hunted, he couldn’t keep his food down, so he stopped hunting as well. Nothing felt real, and every inch of his body down to his toes felt numb with hopelessness and grief. He wanted to cry, but his body had become too weak even for that, so he didn’t. His consciousness felt somewhat like a bird trapped in a building, flapping and scrambling desperately for an exit or a solution, but rather than sailing out an open window to the sky above it merely crashed into walls and dead ends until at last it gave up and slumped to the floor, broken and defeated.

What should he do? What _could_ he do? Protecting Yeul had been his job, but it had also been everything he had ever believed in. Without it, he felt lost and confused. Without Yeul, without anybody, he felt tiny and afraid. The barren wasteland that Gran Pulse had become stretched on for what seemed like forever, but even when he strained his eyes Noel could see no signs of anyone else.

Who should be blamed for this? Caius? Etro? …Noel?

_I couldn’t protect anyone._

With that last condemning thought, his legs that had long since grown weak from fatigue and hunger gave out on him and he fell to his knees. He was cold, and he was afraid, and he was tired. But, mostly, he was just sad.

_If I could just go back and fix everything—_He’d what? Cease to exist? Surely no future in which humanity prospered would ever give birth to him. But Yeul. Yeul who had always died and yet survived throughout the ages would continue to go on living with Caius. Yeul would be surrounded by people, probably cherished and adored. She’d never have another lonely birthday.

That, if nothing else, was worth fighting for. For that, he’d renew his vows to a goddess who seemed to have forsaken them.

As if in response to his decision, a sudden brightness enveloped him, but shockingly though he took it to be the light of Valhalla coming to take him to his death, somehow he felt more alive than he had in months. It was too brilliant—he couldn’t see—and though he probably could have escaped if he chose to, he let it carry him up. Wherever he was going, wherever it was taking him, it could hardly be worse than what he was leaving behind.

There was a kindness and warmth to this light, as if it were telling him not to give up, and if this truly was the Goddess answering his prayers perhaps he might find it worth it to believe in Her once more—just one more time.

But it wouldn't be for his sake.

Nothing he'd fought for had ever really been for his sake, after all.


End file.
